Keyhole illuminating means for doors



Jim 2%, 11936. D. E. SMILEY KEYHOLE ILLUMINATING MEANS ,FOR DOORS FiledMarch 6, 1933 V INVENTOR.

DA V/D E. SMILEY lllhlllll l.| llrlll I l. E i

Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KEYHOLE ILLUMINATINGMEANS FOR- DOORS 2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to doors, and more particularly tolooks thereof, and it is the purpose of this invention to provide meansby which the keyhole of a lock can be illuminated to render it clearlyvisible in the dark, whereby to obviate the delay and annoyanceattendant the effort of searching for the keyhole in a darkenedlocation.

Only one form of the invention will be described, following which itsnovel features will be pointed out in claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a view showing in sideelevation, partly broken away, the invention associated with a door andthe lock thereof;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure1;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of an elec trical circuit embodied inthe invention.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts in each of theseveral views.

Referring specifically to the drawing, this invention is shown for thepurpose of illustration associated with a conventional lock, including arectangular casing l0 fitted in a recess H in the free edge of a doorI2. A sliding latch bolt I3 is actuatable upon rotation of a spindle I4having knobs l5 fixed thereto at opposite sides of the door; and theoperative connection between the spindle and latch bolt includes a leverl6 fixed to the spindle and engaging one arm of a bell crank lever H,which arm is provided with a lug l8 working in a slot IQ of the latchbolt, all as shown in Figure 1. The lock also includes a locking bolt 20adapted to be actuated by a key (not shown) insertable into the casingI0 through a keyhole 2| formed by registering openings in the casing,door and escutcheon plates 22.

The illuminating means embodying this invention comprises an electriclamp 23, the metallic shell 23 of which is threaded into an anglebracket 25 of conducting material, the bracket being secured to andinsulated from the casing It to support the lamp in the recessimmediately below the casing and in proximity to the keyhole 2|. Betweenthe lamp and the keyhole,

- the casing is provided with an opening 26 through the control of aswitch which is manually operable from exteriorly of the door. Thebattery 2! is fitted in a recess 28 formed in the free edge of the dooradjacent the recess H; and the recess 28 is closed by a removable coverplate 23 of'insulating material.

From the battery terminals 30 and 3|, respectively, lead insulatedconductors 32 and 33, the former of which is soldered to the bracket 25.The conductor 33 is extended about the lock casing through a slot 34 inthe latter, and is bent upon itself to extend within the casing directlyopposite that arm of the bell crank lever which is operatively connectedto the latch bolt l3 through the medium of the lug I3 and slot l9 aspreviously described. The free end of the conductor 33 is bared andinsulated from the casing by a strip of insulation 35 as shown inFigure 1. A third conductor 36 is soldered to a contact member 37 fixedto, and insulated from, the bracket 25, the contact member engaging thecenter terminal 38 of the lamp when the shell of the latter is screwedinto the bracket as shown in Figure 1. The conductor 36 is extendedabout the casing I0 and through the slot 34 in spaced relation to theconductor 33, with the free end of the conductor 36 being bared andinsulated from the casing and from the conductor 33 by the strip ofinsulation 35, as shown in Figure 3.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

Let it be assumed that the door is locked by the locking bolt 20. Inorder to illuminate the keyhole 2|, it is only necessary that one of theknobs l5 be turned to release the latch bolt l3, which operation rocksthe bell crank lever into bridging engagement with the free ends of theconductors 33 and 36 to complete a circuit through the lamp 23 asfollows:

From the terminal 30 of the battery 21, through conductor 32, bracket25, shell 24 of the lamp, the lamp filament, center terminal 38 of thelamp, contact member 31, conductor 36, bell crank lever H, and conductor33, back to the battery through the terminal 3|. So long as the knob isheld in this position, the keyhole will be illuminated so as to beclearly visible in the dark, for the insertion of a key.

When the knob is released, it will be manifest that the circuit will bedisrupted to extinguish the lamp, as the lever I1 is normally urged todisengage the conductors 33 and 38 under the action of the usual springprovided for the latch bolt |3.

The invention can be equally well associated with a cylinder lock orother forms of locks, and the switch can be provided independent of thelatch mechanism, it only being desirable that the switch be convenientlyaccessible from exteriorly of the door, at a location on the knob oradjacent thereto. Furthermore, the usual 110 volt current supplied toconsumers can be substituted for the local battery, by extending feedwires through the door jamb and having contacts on'the jamb and doorwhich will establish electrical connection between the feed wires andthe conductors 32 and 33 when the door is closed.

I claim:

1; A door having a lock provided with a key-- hole, latch bolt, and amanually operable actu ator for the latch bolt; an electric lampsupported within the door in a position for light rays from free for theinsertion of a key; and a-circ'uit including a battery enclosed withinthe door, conductors insulated from each other and electricallyconnected to the battery and lamp, said conductors having spacedterminals, and means operable by said actuator from exteriorly of thedoor to complete the circuit through said terminals and thereby supplycurrent from the battery to the lamp.

2. A door having a lock the casing of which is provided a keyhole and ismortised in the door; the lock having a latch bolt and a manuallyoperable actuator therefor; an electric lamp supported by the casing ofthe lock in the door mortise in a position to project light rays throughan opening in the casing so as to be visible through the keyhole fromexteriorly of the door; and an electrical circuit including a batteryenterminals; and a bridging member operable by said actuatorfromexteriorly of the door to bridge said terminals so as to completethe circuit and thereby supply battery current to the lamp.

DAVID E. SMILEY.

